Astros Balls & Strikes: Hector Rondon slams the door

LOS ANGELES, CA - AUGUST 03: Hector Rondon #30 of the Houston Astros reacts after striking out Cody Bellinger #35 of the Los Angeles Dodgers and earning a save in the ninth inning of the game at Dodger Stadium on August 3, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images)

Photo: Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images

LOS ANGELES — Some takeaways from the Astros' 2-1 win against the Dodgers:

Hector Rondon lay in wait, the closer who could soon cede his job to the Astros' newest member. Manny Machado, whom Verlander coronated as "baseball's best hitter," loomed. Two were out and the best road start of Verlander's career hung in peril.

"A good team always has a good closer, a guy the manager is confident enough to bring in in the eighth," Martin Maldonado said. "That's telling you how comfortable the team is with him back there. He got the job done."

Machado is savvy, a veteran seeking rejuvenation with this trade to a contender. He fell behind 1-2 but laid off two of Rondon's sliders, both of which Maldonado blocked expertly. Rondon fixated every pitch to the outer half, cognizant of Machado's home run prowess near the inside part of the plate.

With the count full and the tying run at second base, Rondon rifled a fastball. Machado poked it lazily to the air.

"He does so well with men in scoring position," Verlander said. "What a tremendous job he did."

The flyout extinguished the threat and prolonged one of the little-talked about questions since Roberto Osuna's controversial acquisition.

Who is the Astros' closer?

The question will not be answered now, nor will it become any more clear on Sunday when Osuna's 75-game suspension concludes.

Hinch and Rondon met after the trade was consummated, though Rondon politely declined to share what was discussed. Asked last week flatly if Osuna was his closer, Hinch deflected.

It's clear, though, that Rondon has gained the trust that is sometimes so hard to cultivate. Hinch removed Verlander — this team's unquestioned hoss — for Rondon in the most perilous of situations. It was a four-out save, too — just the third of Rondon's season.

"Virtually every guy has done it," Hinch said of entrusting Rondon with four outs. "He's a guy that, although he hasn't done it a ton in his career, he has the pitches to do it, especially in an environment like this in a high-leverage situation, he's certainly capable."

Against the 3-4-5 of the Dodgers order in the ninth, Rondon allowed one ball in play. Both Yasmani Grandal and Cody Bellinger struck out against him. Grandal swung and missed twice.After he fouled three two-strike pitches, Bellinger watched a 97.7 mph four seamer dot the bottom of the strike zone.

"I had to come and face one guy and throw everything to get that out. When we come back for the next inning, sitting on the bench and all those things is tough," Rondon said. "Your adrenaline goes a little bit down, but you have to put it up again when you go to the mound. I try to keep the same level every time and that's it."

About tomorrow: Lance McCullers Jr., the starter in Game 7 of last season's World Series, faces Kenta Maeda at 8:10 p.m.

Chandler Rome joined the Houston Chronicle in 2018 to cover the Astros after spending one year in Tuscaloosa covering Alabama football — during which Nick Saban asked if he attended college. He did, at LSU, where he covered the Tigers baseball team for nearly four years. He covered most of the Astros' 2015 playoff run, too, as an intern for MLB.com